4. Macro split¶

The target split is 45% carbohydrate, 20–30% protein, 25–30% fat, and the energy conversions are:

But the percentages are not where the calculation starts.

Protein is set from body weight, not from a percentage¶

A percentage of a fat-loss target can land well below what the client needs to hold onto muscle, and the lower the target the worse it gets — which is exactly backwards, because that is when protein matters most.

So: protein grams come from g/kg first, and the percentage is a check on the result rather than the source of it.

Pick within a band by training load — more sessions, higher in the band.

Which weight¶

meas_weight_kg. Where BMI is over 30, use adjusted weight:

ideal  = 25 × (height_m)²
adj    = ideal + 0.4 × (actual − ideal)

Otherwise the protein target scales with fat mass, which is not the tissue it is for, and the number comes out somewhere no one is going to eat.

Then fat, then carbohydrate¶

1. Protein kcal = protein g × 4
2. Fat = 27.5% of the target as a starting point (the midpoint of 25–30%), converted at 9 kcal/g
3. Carbohydrate = whatever remains, at 4 kcal/g

Then check the result against the intended split.

The check, and what to do when it fails¶

Protein above 30%. Happens on a low target with a high g/kg — a small menopausal client in a deficit. Keep the grams. The g/kg figure is a physiological requirement and the percentage is a description of the plate; when they conflict, the requirement wins. Take fat to 25% to give carbohydrate room, and note that the split runs protein-heavy by design.

Carbohydrate below 35%. Same cause, same answer: pull fat down to 25% first. If carbohydrate is still below 35%, accept it — but do not go below 30%, and if the arithmetic demands that, the energy target is too low. Recheck the floor.

Protein below 20%. Only on a high target for a large, sedentary client. Raise protein to 20% of kcal — nothing is lost by exceeding a g/kg minimum.

Per-meal protein¶

The daily total is not the whole instruction. Protein has to be distributed, because each meal is a separate stimulus and one that falls below the threshold does less work.

• 30–40 g in each of the three main meals
• 10–15 g in each snack

This is a hard requirement where the menopause protocol applies and a strong preference otherwise. It is the constraint that most often forces a breakfast to be rebuilt: toast and coffee cannot reach 30 g, and in this questionnaire's population that is what breakfast usually is.

Carry the per-meal figure forward — step 6 needs it.

Worked example¶

Continuing the client from step 3: 52 y, female, 78 kg, 164 cm, perimenopausal, 3 sessions/week, fat-loss deficit, target 1800 kcal.

BMI 29.0 → under 30, use actual weight
Menopause protocol, 3 sessions/week   → 1.6 g/kg
Deficit                               → +0.1 → 1.7 g/kg

Protein  78 × 1.7 = 133 g  → 532 kcal → 29.6%
Fat      27.5% of 1800 = 495 kcal → 55 g
Carb     1800 − 532 − 495 = 773 kcal → 193 g → 42.9%

Check: protein 29.6% — inside 20–30%      ✓
       fat 27.5%     — inside 25–30%      ✓
       carb 42.9%    — at or above 35%    ✓
No adjustment needed.

→ 133 g protein · 193 g carbohydrate · 55 g fat
→ per main meal: 30–40 g protein

Note how close the protein check came to failing. At 1600 kcal the same 133 g would be 33% and the fat would have come down to 25% to make room — that is the common case, not a rare one, and it is why the check exists.

Record it, then hand on:

### Macros
Protein 133 g (1.7 g/kg, menopause protocol + deficit) · 29.6%
Carb    193 g · 42.9%
Fat      55 g · 27.5%
Per main meal: 30–40 g protein. Per snack: 10–15 g.

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